Colbert changes channels in Canada

The following has been edited to clarify that only the first airing of the show will move to M3, and repeats of the show will be pushed to later in the night on Comedy Network:

Effective immediately, The Colbert Report (which ends its run Dec. 17), will no longer have its first airing on the Comedy Network in Canada. Parent company Bell Media has annexed those to the channel M3. (Bell previously yanked Colbert’s 11:30 airings from its CTV network of stations just over a year ago.) The show will then repeat on the Comedy Network at 12:30.

What is M3? It’s the station that was once called MuchMoreMusic, which those of us born in the ‘70s used to watch in the ’00s. Clearly, they’ve come a long way from Vonda Shepard videos.

Canadians can find the station on Bell Satellite channels 571 (SD) and 1671 (HD); on Shaw Direct channel 581; on Rogers channels 36, 477 (HD), and 702; and via local cable providers.

M3 announced the change via this handy listicle, utilizing the few Colbert videos Comedy Central has on Youtube. Of course, that’s what M3 is limited to, since videos housed on Comedy Central properties are blocked in Canada, and the Comedy Network could never be bothered to keep an archive that extends beyond the last few weeks. (This is why VPNs exist, people. Look into it.)

Colbert isn’t the first popular comedy program Bell has evicted from its home recently. Just weeks ago, @Midnight was moved to MuchMusic (replaced with Seinfeld reruns), and last year Conan met the same fate.

The Colbert Report began airing in Canada on the Comedy Network on Nov 7, 2005, in light of its successful US premiere just three weeks earlier. Colbert is ending his show at the end of this year to take over CBS’s Late Show from David Letterman in 2015.

Are you a mega Colbert fan? Bears & Balls: The Colbert Report A-Z, an unofficial fan guide to the show, is coming out in November. It just happens to be co-written by Third Beat’s fearless leader, Sharilyn Johnson. More information about the book is available at www.colbertfanguide.com.

About the Author

Sharilyn Johnson is the author of the book Bears & Balls: The Colbert Report A-Z. Called "one of the city’s most discriminating comedy critics” by NOW Magazine, Sharilyn has been covering comedy for longer than she cares to admit. She served as the comedy reporter for Winnipeg's Uptown Magazine for five years, and was the host of the radio show Laugh Tracks for three seasons. Her work has also appeared in the Toronto Star, the Winnipeg Free Press, The Apiary, and on CBC Radio's national comedy programs LOL and Definitely Not the Opera.